Photographic apparatus.



J. E. WEBSTER. PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30. 1914.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

7/67 zfo 7;

J. E. WEBSTER.

v PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS.-

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30, mm.

1,170,028. Patented Feb.1, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- JOHN E. WEBSTER, or CHICAGO, rumors.

PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

Application filed November 30, 1914. Serial No. 874,645.

To all w ham/it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN E. WEBSTER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Photographic Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general to photographic apparatus and morespecifically to a camera of the shooting down type.

,In commercial photography it is frequently desirable to arrange thearticle or articles to be photographed on a level surface, whereby itbecomes necessary to mount the camera above such surface and direct itdownwardly'thereupon. The cameras used in this class of work arenecessarily large and unwieldy and considerable difficulty has beenexperienced in so arranging the camera and the article support that theymay be readily'manipulated by the operator to properly focus the camerawhile the operator is in a position to view the image on the focusingscreen.

It is the object therefore of my invention to provide a camera of theshooting down type in which all adjusting devices are within easy reachof the operator, whereby he is enabled to make all necessary adjustmentsto obtain a perfect image-without moving from the image-observingposition.

' Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent as it isbetter understood by reference to the following specification incomiection withthe accompany ing drawings. in which- Figure 1 is asideelevation of my inve'ntion; Fig. -2 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is adetail of the lens board balancin spring.

Referring to the rawings, 1, 2 and 3 designate the floor, wall andceiling respec-' tively, of a room, by which the various parts of myinvention are supported, it being,'of course, obvious that othersupporting means may be substituted. Spaced from the wall 2 is anupright member 4 supported at its lower end on the brackets 5. Themember 4 is provided with tracks 6 on either side thereof. forming arunway for the camera supporting frame 7 which is provided with rollers8 to ezgage the tracks 6. The'supporting frame 7 is further providedwith an upright member 9 having a horizontal extension 10, the extremityof which is approximately disposed above the center of the camera and isconnected, through a flexible supporting means 11 running over pulleys12 and 13 secured to the ceiling 3 and the. upright member 4,respectively, with a weight 14 which is adaptedto balance the weight ofthe camera'and its supporting frame.

The camera comprises a frame 15 provided at its upper end with a.focusing screen 16 and at its lower end with a lens board 17. The lensboard 17 is supported from a frame 15 at each of the four sides by meansof lazy tongs 18 which keep the lens board in proper parallelrelationwith the frame as it is moved to and fro. A bellows 19' is also disposedbetween the lens board 17 and the frame 15 to prevent the entrance oflight into the camera as the lens board 17 is moved to properly focusthe camera.

The frame 15 is slidabl'y supported on the horizontal members 20 of thecamera supporting frame 7, bracket members 21 being provided on eitherside of the camera to rigidly hold the members 20 in horizontalposition. The frame 15 is provided with tracks 23 which at its forwardend run on rollers 22 secured to the horizontal members 20. At the rearend the tracks'23 slide on brackets 24 secured to the members 20.

The frame is provided with a rack 25 and a pinion 26 is pivotallymounted on the horizontal members 20 to engage the rack 25. A, handwheel 27 is provided whereby the pinion 26 may be rotated to move therack 25' to and fro along the horizontal members 20. Bythis arrangementit ispossible to adjust the camera in a horizontal direction relative tothe articles to be photographed, while at the same time the camera, whenadjusted, will retain its position owing to the friction betweenthe-tracks 23 and the brackets 2 It is a well known fact that to obtaina sharp image on the focusing screen it is preferable that the lens moverapidlv to the proper point and it is the purpose of mvinvention toprovide a simple means for attaining this result. The lens board 17 isconnected through flexible members 28 running over pulleys 29 with thedrums 30 of the shaft 31 mounted in suitable bearing members 32 on theframe 15. A plurality of springs 34 are secured at one end "to the shaft31 and at the other end to the frame 15 and counter-balance the weightof the lens board 17 and its'supporting mechanism in order that the lensboard may move upward rapidly when the device 33 is actuated. A handoperating device 33. is connected with one end of the shaft 31 and itwill be readily understood that when the operator turns the device 33 ineither direction the drums 30 Will cause, through the flexible members28, a rapid movement of the lens board 17 toward or from the frame 15. Aband brake 35 is secured to the frame 15 and disposed abgut one of thedrums 30, its opposite endbeifigsecured to a hand lever 36 pivotallymounted on the frame 15 and normally held by the spring 37 in positionto hold the brake 35 closely about the drum 30. By releasing the lever36 the brake 35 is automatically set and the lens board 17 may therebybe instantly stopped when the image on the screen 16 is clearly defined.

Mounted on tracks 38 on the floor 1 is a screen 39 having rollers 40coiiperating withthe tracks 38 and adapted to support the article orarticles to be photographed. A rack 41 is disposed along one edge of thescreen 39 and adapted to be engaged by the pinion 42 on an uprightsquared shaft 43 mounted in bearings 44 and 44' secured to the floor 1and the wall 2 respectively. A hand wheel 45 is slidably mounted on theshaft 43 and is adapted to move vertically with the camera supportingframe 7, whereby the hand wheel 45 is always within easy reach of theoperator. By turning the hand Wheel 45 the pinion 42 is rotated and thescreen 39 is moved horizontally in a direction at right angles to themovement of the camera frame 15 on the horizontal members 20.

It is thought that the operation of my device will be readily understoodwithout further description. The article or articles to be photographedare arranged upon the screen 39 and the operator assumes the properposition to view the focusing screen 16. The camera frame 7 is thenmoved vertically on the tracks 6 to a position to ob' tain an image ofthe proper size on the screen 16. The lever 36 is moved to release thebrake 35 and the device 33 is turned to move the lens board 17 rapidlyup and down until the image on the screen 16 is sharply defined. Thelever 36 is then released and the lens board is thereby clamped inproper position. The operator then manipulates the hand wheels 27 and 45to center the ob ject or objects to be photographed and if the image onthe screen 16 is not of proper size the camera frame 7 may be movedvertically and the focusing operation repeated until a satisfactoryimage is obtained. The camera. is now ready for the exposure.

lit will be understood from the foregoing that I have perfected a cameraof the shooting down typein which all of the operating and adjustingmechanism is Within easy reach of the operator while he is in positionto view the focusing screen and that I have provided means for rapidlymoving the lens board to obtain the proper focus in the shortest ossibletime. My invention, therefore, a ordsmany advantages over cameras ofthis type heretofore known in which the adjusting mechanism has not beendisposed, as inmy device, within easy reach of the operator and in whichthe rapid focusing feature has been absent.

It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form,construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention, or sacrificing any of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferredembodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of avertically disposed camera comprising a frame, a lens board movable withrespect thereto and connecting means therebetween, a-shaft, resilientmeans between said shaft and said frame to counter-balance the Weight ofsaid lens board and connecting means, drumson said shaft,-means disposedbetween said drums and said lens board and adapted when said shaft isrotated to draw said lens board upwardly, hand operating means securedto said shaft and means for automatically locking said shaft.

2. In a device of the character described,

the combination of a vertically movable camera, an article supportingscreen movably mounted beneath said camera, a slidably mounted handwheel movable vertically with said camera and disposed to be alwaysreadily accessible by the operator when in focusing position, andconnecting means be tween said hand wheel and said supporting screen,whereby the latter is moved horizontallyrelatively to the camera.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a verticalsupport, a supporting frame movably mounted thereon, a camera mounted onsaid frame, an article supporting screen disposed beneath the camera,and means, disposed to be always readily accessible by the operator whenin focusing position, to move said camera and supporting screenhorizontally in directions at right angles to each other.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a verticalsupport, a supporting, frame mounted thereon and vertically movable withrespect thereto, a counter-weight, flexible means connecting saidsupporting frame and said counter-weight, a vertically disposed cameraslidably mounted to move horizontally on said supporting frame andcomprising a frame, a

lens board and connection means therebetween, means for moving said lensboard to- 7 the combination of a vertical support, a-

a vertically disposed tween, means for counter-balancing the weight ofsaid lens board, means for moving said lens board toward said frame, anda hand operating device for actuating said moving means.-

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of avertically disposed camera comprising a frame, a lens board movable withrespect thereto and connecting means therebetween, means for moving saidlens board toward said frame, a hand operating device-for actuating saidmoving means, and means for automatically locking said moving means.

7. In' a device of the characterdescribe'd,

the combination of a vertically disposed camera comprising a frame,a'lens board movable with respect thereto and connecting meanstherebetween, means for moving said lens board toward said frame, a handoperating device. for actuating said moving means, and springcontrolledmeans for automatically locking said movmg means.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination of avertically disposed J camera, comprising a" frame, a lens board movablewith respect. thereto andconnecting'means, therebetween, means formoving said lens board toward said frame, a hand- 4 operating device'for actuating said moving means, and aspring-controlled brake forautomatically-locking said moving means.

9. In a'deviceof the character described, the combination of supportingmeans, a vertically disposed camera, an article supportingscreen, andmeans disposed to be always readily accessible to the operator when infocusingposition to adjust said camera vertically and horizontally withrespect to said support and to adjust said article supporting screenhorizontally with respect to said camera.

10. In a device of the character-described, the combination'of avertically disposed camera provided with a movable lens board, anarticle supporting screen, and means disposed to be always readilyaccessible to the operatorwhen in focusing position to adjust said lensboard to properly focus the camera and to adjustsaid article supportingscreen horizontally with respect to said camera. 11. In a device of thecharacter described,

the combination of supporting means, a vertically disposed cameracomprising a frame,

' a lens board movable with respect thereto and connecting meanstherebetween, means for moving said, lens board toward said frame, meansfor J counter-balancing. the weight of said lens board and connectingmeans, and means disposed tobe always readily accessible ..to theoperator when in focusand horizontally with respect to said supportingmeans.

12. In a device of the character described,

' the combination of supporting means, 'a vertically disposed camera,comprising a frame, a lens board movable with respect thereto andconnecting means therebetween, means for moving said lens board towardsaid frame, resilient means for counter-balancing the weight of saidlens board and connecting means, and means disposed to be always readilyaccessible to the operator when in foing position to adjust said cameravertically cusing position to adjust said camera vertically andhorizontally with respect to said supporting means;

13. In a dev1ce of the character described, the combination ofsupporting means, a vertically disposed camera, comprising a frame,

a lens board movable with respect thereto, a flexible connecting meanstherebetween,

meansfor moving said lens board towardsaid frame, a hand-operated devicefor actuating said moving means, and means disposed to be always readilyaccessible to the operator when in focusing position to adjust saidcamera vertically and horizontally with respect to said supportingmeans.

14. In a device of the character described, the combination ofsupporting means, a vertically disposed camera, comprising a frame, alens board movable with respect thereto and connecting meanstherebetween, means for counter-balancing the weight of said lens boardand connecting means, means for moving said lens board toward saidframe,

a hand-operating device for actuating saidmoving means, and meansdisposed to be always readily accessible to the operator when infocusing position to adjust saidcamera vertically and horizontally withrespect to said supporting means.

1.5. In a device of the character described,-

the combination of supporting means, a vertically disposed camera,comprising a frame, a lens board movable with respect thereto andconnecting means therebetween, a shaft, drums thereon, means disposedbetween said drums and said lens board and adapted when said' shaft isrotated to draw said lens board upwardly, hand operating means securedto said shaft, and means disposed to be always readily accessible to theoperator when in focusing position to adjust said ator when in focusingposition to adjust camera vertically and horizontally Withresaid cameravertically and horlzontally spect to said supporting means. with respectto said support.

16. In a device of the character described, a JOHN E. WEBSTER. 5 thecombination of supporting means, a ver- WVitnesses:

tically disposed camera, and means disposed WM. 0. BELT,

to be always readily accessible to the oper- M. A. KIDDIE.

